Natural vs Trained Mechanics

[corlay]

Rick,

Very cool post.
I showed this to my 10U, who was already familiar with previous vids of Sarah that you've posted.
She loved it. Inspiring to her? You bet!

Anything we can do to let these young pitchers know that they aren't nearly the first (or last!) kids to challenge themselves in this way.

I would also like to ask, if I may,
were you as "green" as Sarah, when the early video was taken?

 

[starsnuffer]

Rick, great post, very interesting.

I do not believe there is such a thing as a "natural" or a "natural athlete".

All athletic motions are trained, it is simply the manner of training that differs. A kid throwing a ball against a wall 1000 times because they are bored is a kid training. A kid on a skateboard is training core and balance. A kid wrestling with her siblings or dog is training.

Some kids train their finger flexors in front of the ipad for 10 years and not much else.

The term "natural athlete" is just a term rec ball coaches use to label someone when they have no idea how to actually teach athleticism. Sure, there are genetic differences in reflexes and twitch muscle percentage, but athletic movement is learned. Of course we all have easier jobs if the kid is "athletic", but when we get one that is not, there is no excuse for not beginning their training in that regard.

-W

 

[sluggers]

I agree that athletic motions are trained, and that better training produces better athletes.

I do not believe there is such a thing as a "natural" or a "natural athlete".

I disagree...although I agree that coaches use that term much too much. A "natural athlete" is more than just better eye-hand coordination and more fast-twitch muscles. A natural athlete picks up skills at warp speed compared to others.

I coached for 25 years, and I've only coached one "natural" athlete. Her dad had held the world record for the high jump for a year or so. She was off the charts. She just "understood" what physical motion was about. I would show her a rudimentary skill, and she would almost automatically advance a couple of levels. Really sweet kid as well.

 

[CoachFP]

Starsnuffer, I don't agree with your assessment. You know a natural athlete when you see one. There are varying degrees of "naturalness" but nonetheless some people are gifted more or less than others. Same in mental ability. Hard work goes a long way and makes up for some lack of talent but not all of it.

 

[JJsqueeze]

I agree and disagree...I think you can get really far on hard work....and on natural ability. Be it academics, athletics, whatever. The truly special ones are dedicated and naturally talented.

Given a choice, and I say this regardless of the endeavor, I will take the dedicated, hard working one over the naturally talented but less motivated one though any day of the week.

 

[BoardMember]

I do not believe there is such a thing as a "natural" or a "natural athlete".

You obviously haven't seen the movie........

 

[LeftiesDad]

I agree and disagree...I think you can get really far on hard work....and on natural ability. Be it academics, athletics, whatever. The truly special ones are dedicated and naturally talented.

Given a choice, and I say this regardless of the endeavor, I will take the dedicated, hard working one over the naturally talented but less motivated one though any day of the week.

"Hard work beats talent when talent fails to work hard"

 

[Ken B]

A couple of the most talented kids I've seen didn't care. I remember the girl on my x-country MTB team. She had offers and turned them all down. She just didn't care, or realize her talent was so special. Another natural I had the chance to work with at goal keeper clinics/camps really cared. She was driven to improve. Her parents were supportive. All the factors needed to make her a star were there. This year she made the final roster for the US WNT U17 Women's Soccer Team.

 

[Rick Pauly]

Corlay
Great Question!!!!
Of course this is going to be my own personal opinion so please understand that.

I don't think I was as green as Sarah was, but looking back I clearly could have made the journey easier if I had some of the knowledge I think I have now. I probably fell into the category of someone who played the game of fastpitch for many years and thought he knew everything about how to pass that knowledge on..........well I'd say I was way off base. When I read many of the posts on DFP by parents/coaches asking for help it brings back the old saying "been there, done that".

I think I made a post a while back something close to this; "I have probably learned more in the past 5 years than in the 20 years previous to that about the best methods of instructing".

Over the years I have definitely reformulated what and how I teach.......I figure that if Mike Candrea, Sue Enquist, Mike Loteif, and numerous other notable coaches can do total revamp of what they teach then a mere mortal like me can do it to.

Kind of like my last 5 years, I've seen a real narrowing/improving of the information recently being presented on DFP.....it is getting easier to differentiate the good from not so good......the learning curve for any new parent/coach can be greatly shortened by participating on this site.

Rick,

Very cool post.
I showed this to my 10U, who was already familiar with previous vids of Sarah that you've posted.
She loved it. Inspiring to her? You bet!

Anything we can do to let these young pitchers know that they aren't nearly the first (or last!) kids to challenge themselves in this way.

I would also like to ask, if I may,
were you as "green" as Sarah, when the early video was taken?

 

[nanotech14]

Rick, it is funny how a web site can bring this info, free of charge for anyone to learn or share their ideas. I find myself telling parents all the time about this site. But where I live, people act as if I'm trying to bring them to the dark side. They have their local guru on pitching and will not stray from them. I live not to far from Hillhouse and my dd sees him during the summer months. DD went to a local college to a clinic and the PC working with the girls was a HEllo elbow coach. He told me and my dd that Bill teaches how men pitch, not how girls pitch. So I have to ask are you teaching girls how to pitch like men?